Infill of Manor lake mystery solved? 3rd May 2023

You lot really are spoilt. So many updates in a week.

I bumped into the Inert site manager, this morning. He was walking the boundary to survey fencing that had been 'knocked down'. I reckon vandalised. Anyway, I reported it to Finchampstead Parish Council when a long stretch of fencing, just south of Finch pond was flattened. It could only have been vandals.

Anyway, within 24 hours of reporting this, Inert were on the case, hence the survey. Hopefully the fencing will be repaired quickly, as there are Little Ringed Plovers and Lapwing nesting around Finch pond, and they need protection from dogs and unauthorised humans entering the site.

As I chatted to the site manager, I mentioned Manor lake and that original plans showed it as being one large, deep lake. He agreed with me, that's what Inert had planned for, until March last year when they received the 'final' plans for the area. Inert were instructed to

a) Fill in the current Manor lake, making it wetlands with deeper meres.
b) Not dig out Manor lake extension, but make it also wetlands with deeper meres.

What a waste of time, effort, expense and of an established eco-system. I feel this is eco-vandalism. It smacks of certain ornithological organisations meddling in the plans. Both myself and Inert want to get this restoration done, and this change of plans (involving between 100,000 and 200,000 tonnes of inert material) has extended completion date. Sheesh!

What the Inert site manager appears to have been told as a reason for filling in Manor lake is it will stop kids (well, teenagers) swimming in it. Balderdash. They will swim in lakes on Moor Green Lakes and Fleet Hill farm. They're not being filled in.  It's a wildlife organisation that has called for these ridiculous changes.

Plus, the bridle path is, as I suspected, being put closer to Manor lake and Finch pond than the footpath. Seriously. Firstly it stops walkers and bird watchers viewing the reserve and birds. Secondly it allows a few, privileged horse riders views of the reserve and, incidentally, to scare off water fowl, as the riders are so high up. Sheesh, the planners should be shot.